Have you ever tasted beans with molasses and maple syrup? Refresh the classical New England Baked Beans recipe with the light touch of sweetness.
Soaking: 1 hour + Boiling: 1 hour + Baking: 2 hours
Ingredients
- dried great northern beans: 1 pound
- bacon strips (thick-sliced and chopped): 1/2 pound
- Viking Farms Maple Syrup: 1/3 cup
- 2 onions (chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- ketchup: 2 cups
- brown sugar: 1-1/2 cups
- molasses: 1/3 cup
- Worcestershire sauce: 1/4 cup
- salt: 1/2 teaspoon
- pepper (coarsely ground): 1/4 teaspoon
Instructions
Rinse beans with cold water after sorting them carefully .
Take Dutch oven, place beans in it and add enough water to cover them by 2 in. Bring to a boil and keep boiling 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let stand for an hour, covered, to soften.
Drain beans and rinse them again. Return beans to Dutch oven, add water (6-7 cups) and bring to a boil. After reducing heat, cover and simmer for an hour. The beans should become almost tender.
While boiling beans, cook bacon over medium heat in a skillet until crisp. Remove to paper towels, drain, reserving drippings (2 tablespoons). Take chopped onions and saute in drippings 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking for another minute. To finish the sauce, stir in remaining ingredients: ketchup, syrup, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
When beans are ready, drain them and move to an ungreased 3-qt. baking dish. Reserve cooking liquid. Stir in prepared sauce and bacon.
Preheat an oven to 300° and bake covered at 2-1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. If there is not enough liquid, you can add the reserved.
Adding bacon can be optional if you want to cook a vegetarian meal.
More advanced ways of using Viking Farms Maple Syrup with Vegetables!
- Viking Farms Maple Amber Color and Rich Taste Syrup for most vegetables: maple glazed carrots or beets, maple roasted acorn squash, maple bread and butter pickles;
- Try to use ½ cup of Viking Farms Maple for every 2 cups of vegetables for glazing;
- Use Viking Farms Maple Dark Color and Robust Taste Syrup for bitter vegetables like maple glazed or roasted brussels sprouts;
- Use Viking Farms Maple Dark Color and Robust Taste Syrup for butternut squash or French onion soup!
